Conte de la Forte
by Orphiucus
Summary: When Orihime is brought back from the dead by Tenjiro Kiringi, she has lost all hope and refuses to provide help to save Soul Society. As JuhaBach reigns control over Soul Society and her beloved, she must put aside her troubles and learn to fight. M for later chapters. Lemons(eventually), death of characters, angst, violence etc.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

Her eyes were watering and her vision wasn't clear anymore. Orihime could feel pain, even though she was not in her physical body anymore. And looking down at her chest, her suspicions were confirmed. There was indeed the Chain of Fate attached to her and on gently pulling, it burned.

How stupid. She assumed that her shield would have blocked the attack. That the forceful blast of energy would have bounced off. That she would have survived long enough for someone to come and help her. Someone always came to help her. She was always saved in time, because of Ichigo. But he was in Soul Society now. And he wouldn't know anything about what was going on in here. She was going to die here by the hands of his man and no one was going to save her. Maybe everyone in Soul Society was dead so the chances of Rukia, Rangiku, Renji or even Toushiro coming to her rescue were equal to zero. She didn't know where Chad or Urahara are. Were they okay? Were they injured, bleeding heavily some where? The next question had her choke back a sob.

Were they dead?

"Look up girl...are you afraid?" The mans reiatsu was like a blade to her throat. She felt it wrapping around her, smothering her.

It was close to impossible to maintain her posture standing. Soon, she fell down on her knees due to the dense reiatsu which came from the long, dark haired man who stood over her. She knew who he was. He was from the Vandereich. The very group of Quincys who were reigning havoc on Soul Society. The very same people who Ichigo went to stop. But if he was here, who was leading the Quincys in Soul Society? Had the Shinigami realised that the leader was here, in Hueco Mundo?

"I asked you something, girl." Came a deep voice which was too close to her. Orihime, with deadly fear coursing through her veins, risked a glance upwards and gasped. He was right there! He seemed to have flash stepped from his previous position a few feet away from her and was in front of her, kneeling, his dark eyes intensely staring into hers. Her breathing was crushed; she might have been breathing through a bag wrapped around her head. Her mind was in two. She wanted to jump back into her physical body-to do anything to escape this terrible man. She was terrified that he wouldn't kill her quickly, in the ideal way she wanted to pass on from one world to another. She knew what he was going to do to her. He would kill her slowly, intimately, in every way he knew she feared and loathed and would enjoy every second of hearing her scream for mercy-to beg him to kill her already so as to stop this madness.

She swallowed thickly and answered, keeping her voice strong.

"I'm not afraid of men like _you_."

He cocked an eyebrow. That was the only change in his expression, which wasn't a good sign. It meant that she failed to invoke him into doing something rash. She wasn't buying herself time. No, she was making the bloody clock go faster.

"I see. Then you surely wouldn't be afraid to die by my hands either, would you?" He said, slowly standing up.

The air around him crackled, signalling that he going to fire at her again, this time at a dangerously close range which without a doubt would kill her instantly. She disintegrate, her soul would be vaporised. If he killed her, she wouldn't go to Soul Society or even become a Hollow for that matter. Her existence would be removed from the world. She wouldn't meet Sora, who was waiting for her to come home to him in the other side. Her eyes instantly teared up and the little that she could see of her future also disappeared from her vision. Her head sagged in defeat-her body limp.

The man knew this posture all too well. It was that of surrender. She wasnt going to put up a fight. This woman had lost the battle within her to keep living. Killing her now would be a favour. It would merciful to introduce her to Death himself than to let her go on with the knowledge that she gave up the minute she faced Death: to live with the awareness of how pathetically useless she was.

Orihime could perceive that he had aimed an arrow her head. Her heart thundered. Strange indeed, how it finally made its presence known to her at a time like this, when it soon wasn't going to be her heart anymore.

_So this is it...I die like this...?_

The one face that sparing to her mind was that of Tatsuki. She clenched her eyes shut and prayed the hardest she ever had in her whole life in hopes that her friend would hear her.

_Thank you Tatsuki...for protecting me. I'm sorry I'm leaving you...I love you. _

_And there was Ishida, Chad, Rukia, Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Byakuya, Yoruichi, Urahara, Chizuru, Mizuro, Keigo...Ichigo. _

_I couldn't tell him. I couldn't bring myself to admit my true feelings for him. I never got to properly thank him for saving every time when I was in trouble. And most of all...for being the man I first fell in love with. _

_Thank you...Ichigo. _

When the arrow pierced her, the pain was unbearable. She felt her whole body was being ripped from inside out. This was ten times worse than being stabbed, shot, smothered, drowning or being burned alive. Even beheading seemed like a tempting escape from this particular form of pain. What ever was left of her resolve crumbled. She was ready to beg him. She would fetch the moon, if only to die without pain. Her remaining shred of bravery and courage shattered and she let out a wild scream of pain which was impossible to keep in. There was a bright light, hot and searing which enveloped her body. Then nothing.

The man starred at the place where the human woman was just seconds ago. How strange. Her soul didn't vaporise, as it usual did with everyone else.

No-instead-it shone.

He could still feel the startling gust of reiatsu that was expelled from her body when the arrow struck her. That kind of reiatsu was quite unlike anything he'd ever seen.

But pondering aside, she was dead.


	2. At the King's Realm

**Disclaimer: Bleach and the characters depicted here in this story do not belong to me. I am also not gaining any profit whatsoever from this fanfiction. **

**AT THE KING'S REALM.**

There was no need to hurry. Time never rushed pass her, fortunately. The tides of the vast ocean were unusually strong that evening, but she knew why. The tides were moving away from the shore and as she treaded through the white crystalline sand, a gush of wind blew her white blond hair across her face. Mameha could feel the young woman's flickering reiatsu beginning to strengthen by the minute - signalling that the Soul Healing process had already begun. She hoped that there was not much extensive damage to the girl otherwise it would lead to a painful recovery which would be intermingled with agonising methods of traditional soul mending, supervised by Tenjiro Kirinji. And there would be no guarantee of survival. It would a miracle if her life was salvaged.

The flux in the movement of the sky halted, then as if the Holy Creator himself had taken in a deep breath, the sky caved in on itself for an instant, then settled to is previous undisturbed position. The portal had shut.

Mameha walked forward for a while longer and finally she found the person she had been looking for. The young girl was eerily still, her body drenched wet. That was good news. It meant that the water of the ocean was speeding her healing process and she should be stirring any moment now. Mameha walked closer to gaze at the human girl and was relived to see that her body faintly and slowly rose and fell with air.

She would have to call for aid to bring her back to the castle.

She flipped the girl on her back and gasped in shock when her eyes landed in the girls chest. At the centre of her chest, right above her heart was dark liquid gushing out like a fountain. Mameha feel to her knees, her hands instantly covering the gaping wound and applying pressure to stop the torrents of blood flowing out of her body. This was going wrong. The water of the ocean was pure rieshi - it was supposed to heal her! The very air she inhaled was pure energy which existed for the very purpose of healing and mending broken spirits. Spirit Energy of this sort - so pure and untainted was only found on this realm.

As the water trickled away from them, Mameha removed one hand from the girl's body to stick it in the water - without thinking and then placed it back over the auburn haired's gaping wound.

When the bleeding slowed down after a few very tense seconds, Mameha let out a breath she did not know she had been holding. She was right after all. It would take a lot more to completely heal this girl. Hikifune was probably waiting for them in the palace.

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Orihime simmered in the bed she lay, her head throbbing. The sheets she lay on were soft and so comfortable yet mildly damp. Burrowing deeper, she tired to turn on her belly, but snapped her eyes open instantly once she felt the pain. Her head felt like it was going to split open - she felt constricted in her chest. On looking down, she observed her exhausted body wrapped in multiple layers of dressing which were no doubt for her wounds. What happened exactly? Did she fall down the stairs again? _No_, a voice in her mind chided. It was something more serious than that. Maybe she was hit by a car while crossing the street. It was quite likely that this is exactly what happened as only god knows how many times she's avoided getting in the way of a speeding vehicle. But still, something didn't feel quite right. There was a detail missing.

She looked around the room she was in. There were no windows in warm room; she panicked. Her shaky hands clutched at the white sheets which covered her body, trying to remove them. It was getting hot. She could feel her robes sticking to her back with perspiration. Orihime tried to speak, but her throat was dry.

"He...lo...?...c-can...so...me...one...?"

She hadn't expected anyone to hear those feeble, whispered words which had miraculously stumbled out of her mouth. But someone did.

"_She's awake_! Mio, run and get Mameha! Tell her the girl is awake!" A worried voice hollered loudly at someone and a bald, middle aged man came into view. He was leaning over the bed, his palm on her forehead checking her temperature. Orihime wanted to ask where was she, why was covered in bandages but he shushed her efforts.

"Shh! Don't speak! Lie down, girl...lie down now..."

The man gazed into her grey eyes with the utmost seriousness that her throat closed up automatically with his harsh glare. It would just have to wait apparently, no matter what. The doors flew open and Orihime heard rustling of robes. Seconds later a woman with startling white hair leaned over her, her bright lavender eyes wide.

She couldn't see the woman's features clearly, as if someone had placed butter paper over her eyes.

"Can you hear me? Orihime?"

She nodded.

"Can you see me?" The woman's voice was soft yet firm. She found herself disliking that tone. It reminded her of cold doctors- detached people.

She slowly shook her head.

The woman instantly bustled into action, calling names and summoning flasks of medicines. Her commands were mostly monosyllabic but some were repeated when she didn't receive her demands the first time she asked. Orihime felt strange. Like she had eaten much more than her appetite asked her too. Her head felt heavy and the constant chatter of loud voices in the room did not help. The bed she lay in was soft yet she was continuously shifting positions; her body restless.

It was hard to find a position she was comfortable in and she made to move herself to her side-

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?_" Someone roared. Orihime jumped in shock, afraid she was being yelled at. "Gimme that!"

Someone - their hands were very rough - pushed her down back to the bed. It strange but all those voices sounded far away; like she was hearing people yelling at the end of a tunnel. Her vision was completely compromised and she didn't even bother wondering what was wrong. She might've had her eyes closed the whole time. Her heart, which was thundering when she woke up, felt nonexistent.

Her heart would stop beating any minute anyway.

How many times does she have to die exactly?

"I don't feel amy spiritual pressure anymore. No - dont stop! Listen, please! Lets try again!"

There was a faint continuous beep-like noise. When was the last time she heard something like that? She asked herself, half-heartedly trying to remember a distant memory.

At the Kurosaki clinic, when her own brothers heart had stopped beating. Her heart was going to stop beating any second now too, just like her brother's. She didn't know where she was; she was injured badly - her heart was an obvious evidence to support the fact. But _how_? How did she manage to bring such extensive damage upon herself? What - did a truck run over her or something?

Orihimes eyes suddenly became too heavy and they shut, her mind slowing down...down...down.

.

.

.

She felt incredibly light.

The feeling of being pulled and retrained to the earth was always there previously. However, it was absent now. Behind her close eyelids, a bright light shone blindingly causing her to see dancing red spots behind her eyelids. She couldn't open her eyes and strangely, she realised, she did not want to open her them.

It felt soothing to be surrounded by such calm and quiet; her body felt as if it weighed equal to air.

This felt amazing.

.

.

.

"Leave the room. _All_ of you." Tenjiro muttered, his large hands glazing over the woman's body, a faint glow emanating from his downward palms. Mameha hesitated, but silently followed the healers out of the room and leaving the woman's dead body with the tall man.

"Interesting," he cocked his head to the side. "How someone could be wounded so terribly yet still manage to survive for this long. Remarkable indeed."

He scrutinised the cold body on the table in front of him. The woman was fairly young; her pasty skin covered from vicious scars and angry cuts; some places were blue-black probably caused by the fight she must have engaged in when she was still alive and well. He didn't understand how her body did not heal when she was found on the shore of ocean. Under normal circumstances, she should have been healthy, flawless and healed by now. However, the only explainable reason for the delay in Soul Healing would be that she had been under dense, dark spiritual pressure that restricted the flow of reiatsu in her body from the soul link and the chain link.

"Wake up now," he suddenly brought his hand down on the woman's forehead and the other one directly above her heart.

A second later, the girl lunged upright, gasping, coughing and spluttering from where she lay a fraction of a second ago.

Her eyes shone an unnatural liquid gold but soon faded back to their original grey color; the air around them was charged with static. She collapsed onto the hard surface again with her body limp, but alive. She gasped, taking in lungfuls of air - feeling as if she hadn't breathed in years. Her eyes were unfocused under the bright light directed at her face but suddenly figure loomed overhead and Orihime saw beady eyes staring at her.

She let out a shrill scream and scrambled away from the man; in her efforts to get away, her flailing arms hit the man in the eye and he doubled over, howling, clutching his right eye. It was also at that moment when she realised she was naked and Orihime stilled in horror.

"Are you bloody mad, woman? YOU HIT ME!" He snarled at her, looking through one eye which wasn't covered by his hand. But he met her horrified stare as she feebly tried to cover her body by the white sheets which were draped over her like a curtain.

His mind whirled in circles and she quickly understood what he was going to do to her.

"It's not what it looks like. I wasn't trying to deflower you or anything okay? I was just-"

"What...where am..?" Orihime softly murmured, looking around her, feeling very confused and disorientated.

Tenjiro started at her.

"You don't remember?" He stared at her, amazed, at how oblivious she seemed. "How you came here, what happened. All that has just..."

"Look, excuse me, sir, but if you could just tell me..._where are my cloths?!_" Her voice shook with embarrassment. She was naked! In front of a complete stranger! Yet she found herself wondering. How did she get here? She felt scared, vulnerable and absolutely terrified at what this man was going to do to her if she hadn't woken up. _Where was everyone else?!_ Where was that bald man?

"You're dead darlin'," said the man with crazy hairdo. "There's no point tryin' to sugar coat it for ya. Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all.

"That's not funny!" She instantly cried, feeling panicky. "What d'you mean, I'm dead?" Orihime struggled, trying to get up while keeping herself covered completely from the tall and gangly man's eyes prying eyes. She eyed the door behind him, wondering how long it would take for to run from the bed to there. And if he would be able to catch up to her. Maybe if she hit him in the eye again...

Suddenly, he appeared right before her, gazing at her with his small, beetle-like eyes. Orihime paled; her mouth was suddenly dry. How did her get there so fast? He definitely wasn't human. Maybe- although she desperately hoped not-she was in the Soul Society. If what this man was saying was right...then how exactly did she die?

"You're dead," he said flatly while putting on a white haori which was laying at his feet. Orihime craned her neck to see which squad he was in. She'd never seem him before. He continued, ignoring her starting eyes. "You were murdered in Hueco Mundo by JuhaBach. Your soul should have been obliterated but you survived. And came here. To the Soul King's realm."

Orihime felt light-headed. Some of his words made their way into her muddles head: he was making some sense. Something felt odd.

Her head flopped down, unable to comprehend the words which were forcing themselves through her mind. But there was an important detail; something her mind is overlooking; '_It isn't possible_' she thought. '_Im being_ _ridiculous_' she shrugs away this uneasy feeling settling at the bottom of her belly. But something told her he wasn't lying. No...she pushes deeper into the abyssal of her mind, digging harder than ever before, struggling to latch onto some reasonable explanation. Something concrete. Why did he seem to make sense?

_Hueco Mundo_.

She was doing something important there. Saving someone. Healing someone. Chad was hurt. Urahara was trying to contact Ichigo.

But...something terrible had happened. '_What was it?_' She strained herself to remember, feeling as if she had eaten something wriggly.

Nel was there. The tiny, green haired, small arrancar's face flashed across her eyes. Orihime breathed out heavily, her grey eyes opening half mast to gaze at the ceiling. She gasped quietly in wonder.

There were candles floating high above her, levitating without any strings or support, brilliantly lighting the dark room in a way any ordinary candle would have failed to do so.

"Try to rememeber," his voice urged her, gentler than before, pulling her away from her unsuitable muddling.

She closed her eyes yet again, concentrating on a point deep within her memory.

Images came back to her in flashes and slowly they transformed into a horrifying scene consisting of her, kneeling on the white, sandy ground, fear flowing through her veins.

She jerked up again, gasping.

There was a long silence. All that could be heard was her harsh breathing and then, she broke down to sobs. The tall Shinigami standing a few feet away from her cautiously came forward and mused over his next move; Orihime's body was shaking with her sobs and her bright tears were flowing freely through her fingers. Her cries kept getting louder and louder, leaving Tenjiro at a loss of what exactly to say to this young woman which could shut her crying up; he looked at her uncertainly, feeling dreadful for the poor girl.

Orihime was trying to breathe, but it never seemed harder; why didn't the earth just open up and swallow her? She had died in a war like a helpless fool and wasn't able to defend herself. She clearly remembered Chad's body was lying face-down, several yards away from her, his back and left arm caked in blood. Urahara had tried his hardest to keep her away from the enemy but to no avail. She was clutching Nel so tightly to her chest with fear; it was impossible to tell if the thud that she heard was because Urahara had been defeated or the enemy had fallen.

She stopped, opening her eyes before she saw more. The whole scenario played out so vividly behind closed her closed eyes almost as if she was back there in that horrid place again, getting killed.

"Sleep now," the tall Shinigami muttered and placed his hand on her forehead. Immediately, Orihime's body went slack and she slumped into the mans waiting arms.

"For it is in sleep that you can be peaceful. What is about to arrive is something very unpleasant...something we all have to reluctantly face."

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.

.

The room she was allotted this time had many windows, all large and overlooking the five cities hovering below. On her right, shrouded in the darkness was a set of antique chairs surrounding a low glass table. There was a long table in the center of the room with a small lamp, some parchment and a glass chess set. It was finished with two large, plush leather chairs. She was surprised to observe that the room was quite futuristic for...Shinigami standards. The wall of her left was augmented with knee length chest of drawers which stretched to the length of the wall itself.

Nothing about the room was home-like, but oddly enough, it gave her a strange sense of comfort. She did not remember how she came here or if someone brought her here. Most probably the latter since she fell unconscious.

Her eyes felt dry and itchy and her head felt too heavy; it was only matter of time before her brittle neck snapped with the weight of thoughts in her mind. She walked back to the bed she had just gotten up from: the room was moving in circles around her head and if she didn't lie down again, she was sure she'll pass out again. Orihime wished someone would knock on her door, come in and check if she was alright. She didn't like being alone.

"Miss Inoue?"

She turned her head towards the door, confused and confident she must have heard wrong. But someone was knocking at the door...

"Miss Inoue, are you awake?" Came a muffled voice. Orihime hastily shuffled out of bed to open the door.

"I'm up!" She hoarsely shouted and swung open the door, narrowly avoiding hitting herself across the face. A tall woman with pale stared back at her. She was carrying a tray of food with her and looked quite shocked. Orihime stepped aside to let her in.

"How're you feeling?" She asked as she set the food down on the glass table.

"Much better," said Orihime. She hadn't the faintest idea what to do now that her wish was granted. There were questions she was dying to ask but hesitated, fearful of something going awry or hearing bad news she was certain she couldn't manage.

"Thank you for the room," she expressed her thanks timidly, feeling shy.

Mameha looked astounded but smiled nonetheless. Her response ("You're welcome!") was only half-heard by the red head. She was racking her brains on how to ask the most important question of all.

"Could you, um - do you know anything about my friends in Hueco Mundo? The ones I left behind...are they OK?" She tried conceal the worry in her voice.

"I don't know, I'm afraid," the woman looked at her sadly and Orihime's heart dropped to her stomach. "I'm sorry but only the Squad members know about these things. You can ask them when you met them. I'm sure they'd tell you..."

"Right...OK," she answered numbly, trying not to feel disappointed.

Urahara must have taken care of everything. He was the kind of man to have tricks up his sleeve in situations like these. She settles on the bed again, her mind a million miles away.

Mameha felt sorry for the girl; she had wanted for her to avoid exposure to such a distressing awakening.

"Would you like to eat? You must be hungry..." She looked at the contents on the tray. "There's soup, sweet rice, fruits - if you want to have any, that is - and water - are you thirsty?"

"No, thank you."

Orihime wrung her hands with worry and anxiousness. How should I ask?

"Could you tell me where...the man who - um, healed me...could you tell me where-"

"You mean Captain Tenjiro? Oh!" Mameha looked around the room, as if she could pluck him from the air above her. "He wanted to meet you but didn't know when you'd wake up. Why don't you finish your food and then I'll take you to meet him and the others?"

Orihime automatically got up quickly and started to walk towards the door before Mameha could stop her. "I'd like to meet them now, if you don't mind."

Ignoring the woman's surprised shouts of "Wait - you should eat some thing first! It's unhealthy for you to move around this early! Please - wait - you - shouldn't - be - out-" Orihime stormed forward to the door, swinging it open and looking around the hallway. She almost crashed into a tall wall of a man. Feeling like she was looking up at skyscraper, Orihime managed to retain eye contact with exactly the man she was looking for.

"What're you doin' outside your room? Get back-"

"Oh - oh my..." Mameha came to a halt behind the redhead and and looked at the Captain - alarmed. "C-Captain, she wouldn't listen - I tried - it's not her fault-"

"Where are my friends?" Orihime cut in impatiently. "The ones in Hueco Mundo - are they OK? Did anyone save them? - could you please - please tell me if they're alright?" Furious with herself for crying, Orihime forced herself to continue, having no restrains about her tears.

Tenjiro discreetly made to place his hand on her head again but Orihime swiftly moved out of the way: she knew what he was trying to do.

"Don't put me to sleep! Just - just tell me if they're alive. Please...that's all I need to know."

He stared at her, wondering what was so special about her. There wasn't anything remotely strong about her reiatsu, her powers were unusual yet her body was still humane and weak. It wasn't a surprise she had died, rather why she arrived here. Such capacity of enormous power was irksome to be found in someone like her. It was unexpected and absurd.

"They regained consciousness soon after you arrived here. Nel - the arrancar - got someone to help 'em," he answered - closely observing the changes in her expression which varied from relief, happiness and something else he didn't have a word for.

"Thank you - thank you so much," she shakily said, her hands clasped together.

"Let's get you in now-" Mameha nudged her gently, wanting to get her inside the room quickly.

She was surprised to see Captain Tenjiro follow them but didn't say anything. Orihime felt immensely reassured now that her most important question was answered and did not argue when she was being fussed over by the pale haired Healer. Her eyes were starting to droop; she bit back a threatening yawn. They were right, apparently. She wasn't strong enough just yet to roam around carelessly.

As she was ushered into the dark and cool room, she mechanically walked over to her bed and pulled the covers over herself. She'd wake up tomorrow and everything would be alright. With that comforting idea, sleep rolled over her, stifling all other thoughts.

* * *

**A/N**: Right. Please let me know if I got some spellings wrong or something because I'm writing after such a long time. Also, it's very vital and absolutely important that you guys let me know what you think! I'd appreciate any thoughts, queries, doubts or just random messages that you want to tell me about! Feel Free. Really. I'm serious.

I know this is a very strange plot but I wanted to write about what's going on in Bleach _now_. The Thousand Year Blood-War Arc is just plain awesome and of course, I always feel that Orihime has the capacity to do better.

I haven't completely thought of what I plan to do in the future with this plot or how I've shaped it. But I promise, I'll do it _soon_. This is too good for me to drop. I have to complete this story.

Also, if there are any Beta Readers who're reading this...help me?

THNAK YOU!


	3. Zero Division

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Bleach does not belong to me. *sighs* But this story does. _

* * *

The concepts and protocols of time were not applicable in this realm, observed Orihime. Time went by very slowly around here.

She wasn't moping anymore, as Kirinji put it. She didn't know how to process that fact and remained silent, her mind in pieces and her heart buried in conflict. Would it have made a difference if she had succumbed to her fears; if she was hysterical right now instead being calm?

She was somewhat in good condition, thanks to Kirinji. However, she still felt that phantom pain of being pierced through her chest sometimes. It frightened her, yet she endured the pain, convincing herself that it was the only solution for her to keep a solid grasp on reality; on the sorrowful reality that she was dead.

The sun here was bright - the weather cool and windy. She hasn't gotten accustomed to breathing here with all the pure spirit particle in the air at such a concentrated level. Hyosube Ichibei told her that the sensation would pass soon and there was nothing to worry about. She wasn't able to wrap her head around it at first, but then came that reminder again. You're dead, Orihime. Of course she'll get accustomed to it. She wasn't in her human body anymore.

She had refrained from asking too many questions; they might get annoyed and kick her out of here.

Today morning, she heard Mameha talking to Kirinji and Captain Hikifune outside her door. Their voices were soft and hushed so she had to press her ear against the door to hear them properly. She caught them midway through their conversation but from what she could comprehend, they were going to go to Soul Society soon. Things sounded pretty bad there and people were injured. Her heart jumped in her chest when she heard that and resisted the urge to involuntarily gasp.

As she walked along the shore of the Ocean she wondered if she was going to be of any use now. How was she going to break the news that she's dead to her friends? When was she even going to meet them? Ichigo would...probably do something extremely reckless. Most probably, even the others would. That would just distract them from fighting properly- something that seems to have become a bit of a habit for her.

Orihime scoffed.

Even now in death, appearing by her dear friends side would only be a liability.

"Foolish," she whispered.

"No it ain't."

She whipped around to face Oetsu Nimaya, a dark skinned man with wild curly hair shaved from one side.

He was very strange. He grinned all the time - very creepily, at that - and talked in an impudent manner which reminded her of the students in the neighbouring high school in Karakura. She found herself unable to be deceived by whatever front this man had for himself yet at the same time, she wasn't eager to investigate his actual personality either.

"I'm sorry?"

"To think tha' yer a burden when yeh ain't." He strolled to where she had halted, looking at the horizon. The bright light of the sun as reflected by his sunglasses casting a harsh glare of the sun rays at her face; Orihime had to squint to see properly. With three strides, he was right beside her - looking at the Ocean and the movement of the unusual tides.

Orihime's mouth flapped like a fish out of water. "Excuse me?"

"Don' tell me yeh din' geddit." He said, finally looking down at her incredulous face. "I know what yer thinkin'." He sounds utterly confident and certain. Like someone had asked him what a cow looks like.

There is silence between them for a while, during which both of them stared of into space. Orihime kept thinking how stupid this was, and shuffled her feet. She was sure he noticed.

"Is everyone in Soul Society alright?" It took immense willpower to control herself from bursting out and shutting all her questions at him at once. She hoped that he would answer her. Surprisingly, he did.

"Not good. The body count hasn't been confirmed yet."

Orihime let out a shaky breath. She felt like sitting down; the ground seemed to have fallen out from below her feet; her throat had closed in on itself and it felt like there was tight skeletal hand wrapped around her chest, squeezing harder and harder until her head popped off.

She turned her face away, frowning deeply. She cleared her throat.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You're not strong enough."

The reply was frank and the truth, yet it still stung. However, she wasn't angry. Instead, she nodded with acknowledgment at his honest opinion. She avoided looking at him in the eye for many reasons. First, he wore sunglasses, so she could never see his eyes and secondly; there was something about this man that made her feel very intimidated and small. Actually, all of the Captains here in this realm were so superior that is was a miracle she could stand straight around any of them.

"What should I do?" She asked, firmly staring ahead.

"How am I s'posed to know?"

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.

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One day in this dimension, was three in Soul Society. Doing the math, one hour here, was four over there. And in this one day, a worldwide of things must have happened, which she was not a part of anymore. And why should she be anyway? No matter how kind and generous and loving she is, how sickeningly sweet she is, everything always manages to blow up in her face, stripping her of faith once again and leaving her to rot.

Why must she be courteous? Why must she help people? Look where it landed her...

Her mind was working in sinister ways, evoking thoughts which were malicious and negative - which she surprisingly entertained. Orihime finally began to feel bitter about her untimely and sudden death. She wished she had lived long enough to get a job, marry the man she loved, have his children and then after she has grown old and lived a long and joyous life-to die; warm and wrinkled in her bed.

Her powers seemed to have temporarily disappeared, but Orihime informed no one of this. She didn't want to attract attention and focused on getting them back herself. But deep inside, she felt something horrible had happened. Maybe she'd lost her powers. She didn't dare say it out loud, fearing she'd jinx herself with bad luck. If that was the case however...there truly wasn't any reason for her to continue anymore. She didn't stand for anything now.

Tenjiro Kirinji was hovering around her, very observant. If she didn't know any better, it might look like he knew something was wrong with her. None of the Captains or even Mameha had raised the question; "_Just how did you come to the King's Realm without the Ouken?_"

She hoped this nightmare would end. Her mind was playing games with her. She was hallucinating-hopefully if that is what you would call it. She was seeing things - sporadically, things which made no sense. Oddly enough, it wasn't irrational, imaginary things but rather these - hallucinations or visions - showed her...events. Things that haven't occurred yet. They began two days ago when she woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and rushed to the bathroom to vomit. As she lay there on the cold stone floor, a scenario flashed past her eyes;

_A nameless stranger. A man with a long shivery white beard and dark green eyes. The vision suddenly changed now displaying a middle class home where the husband and wife were fighting. _

She didn't know who these people were. Orihime had never seen them before in her life.

Unexpectedly, her face appeared before her eyes.

_She was walking down a long stone corridor, her black robes swooshing behind her. _She...didn't look like herself at all. It was frightening and the vision disappeared as soon as it came.

What was wrong with her? She was too frightened to ask Kirinji and would rather die first than inform Mameha.

As she came back into her room, Orihime checked the hallway and listened carefully to make sure no one was eavesdropping before closing the door to her room and locking it safely.

"Ayame?" She tentatively called out to the empty room. "Tsubaki? Are you there?"

There was no reply but her own heavy breathing.

Orihime swallowed. She called out to them once again but to no avail.

_They weren't there with her anymore_.

She felt the bottom of her stomach drop and horrible feeling of dread fall rapidly over her. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes burned. She tied summoning them by force; there wasn't any response. Not even a flicker of life from her hair pins. She took them off and stared helplessly at them- feeling like utter garbage.

_She had just lost her powers_.

Now there was literally no reason for her to survive. She might as well just kill herself now. Wouldn't that do everyone some good? One less person to worry about...

Orihime was a pacifist. She detested violence, seeking to resolve conflict with negotiations rather than physical and brutish strength. She was different than her fellow friends. Her concept of strength and power was radical. But maybe...it was about time, with the turn of events, that she change that. That she change herself. Perhaps, she needed to grow stronger, to kill, to dismember, to murder and mutilate countless people to prove herself. Why hadn't she already?

For her brothers memory? To prove that she wasn't like her abusive parents? Do they even know what she looks like? Do they where she is, whether their son is alive or-she swallowed- dead...?

Orihime hated herself. Hated how she was officially useless. Detested her powers. Loathed her nature. And truly, deeply wanted to change.

She wanted more. She indulged herself with fantasies where she was wielding the strongest zanpaktou, her strength unchallenged. She was a warrior, stronger than Kurosaki, than the Gotei 13. The Zero Division welcomes her; she was astounding.

_She was god. _

Almost immediately, she forcefully stopped herself.

_What's wrong with her? _

It was wrong to be jealous of her friends. It was wrong because they had...they had helped her, for Gods sake! They stood by her side, holding her, supporting her and she felt guilty and traitorous for even thinking the way she was. They were her only family.

Yet, she died alone. There was no one who came along with her. There was no one to hold her hand when Sora died. No one to bear her pain. So what exactly was the lint of friends? You live alone, you die alone. The only person she has to care about from now on is her. They hadn't revealed their troubles to her, had they. They never talked about their insecurities, or shared the pain they carried. They understood, far earlier than she did, that the true cost of being strong was sacrifice. Sacrifice everything. Love, emotion, family, compassion. Orihime would have to strip herself down to nothing and rebuild.

If you can't find what you're looking for, build it yourself.

.

.

.

Tenjiro already knew about her loss. The second she lurched up from that table- alive and stronger than ever- he knew she wasn't just a human with strange abilities that were worthy to a warrior. She was far more capable than that. In all his life- and he had lived a long life- she was the first he had even encountered who made goosebumps rise on his arms.

How those children in Soul Society never knew about her amazed him. Perhaps Aizen could. Maybe he had gotten a glimpse of her true power and that was the reason why he abducted her. To try and awaken them, see if he could meddle with her emotional state and extract her untapped potential for his use. It seems he was unsuccessful.

Tenjiro immediately informed the others. And then to the Soul King. They were strictly ordered to leave her be.

She would be facing a transition right now, losing her human powers and acquiring new ones- stronger ones. Only time will tell what she is genuinely capable of. Of course, that time will also come when she approaches them for answers, seeking a weapon worthy for her to ride into battle with it and fight for the victory she deserves.

When that time came, they were to point her in the right direction and step aside. But could he find it in himself to do that?

Her pain- the sorrow, the hate and unfairness of life that she has bore on her fragile shudders is soon to take its toll in her. She will seek vengeance. Tenjiro knows he'll try to stop her, fearing that her innocence will be lost.

But it's too early to tell, he reminds himself. He'll keep an eye out for her as long as he can, to prevent her from finding out the hard way.

No one should have to go through her pain.

.

.

.

_His body- Ulquiorra's- was more and taller then she remembered. He seemed to have changed. Become more muscular. _

_Good. _

_She needed him strong. He was going to hold the fort while she...searched. _

_"Can you fight now? Or do you need more time?" _

_He flexed his body, checking his limbs and fingers. "I think this'll do. Why?" _

_"We have to go. There isnt much time. I'll follow you soon. I have something to do first..." _

_"What is it?" _

_"There's someone waiting for me." _

_"Who?" _

_She frowns. "No one you need to know. Just minimise the damage and eliminate the enemy, but do not engage JuhaBach. Not until I arrive. Those are your orders." He didn't seem fazed but a lingering of curiosity hung over his features before he realised she saw it and removed its traces completely. _

_"As you say," he responds softly. _

Orihime lurched upright clutching her head, her eyes wide open. She doesn't believe it. That felt...so much like her. She could feel everything. She could hear his voice clearly like she was listening to him whisper in her ears. The whole occurrence was so dangerously vivid. She shook her head, wishing that the image would flash by again so that she could see a little more carefully this time.

She felt the edges of mind wrinkles and before she could stop it, another vision burst through.

_There is a man walking towards her. He is tall and carries a sword. She knows he's concealing breathtaking abilities. Withholding her smirk, she blinks and waits as he comes to a stop in front of her. He is much, much older than her. And he knows things about her past. About who she is. _

_"Tell me..." She murmurs. "Aren't you glad I'm back home? To reclaim what is rightfully mine?" _

_The mans dark eyes harden. "No. And this isn't your home anymore. Leave at once." _

_"I can't to that...just give me what I want." Orihime is writhing. Her hands twitch with uncontrolled restraint. Where has he hidden it? Surely not inside; that would be most unfortunate as she would then have to rip the whole place apart. As if wasn't going to happen anyways, when they fought..._

_"You're parents would be ashamed-" _

_Her blood instantly boiled. "DONT YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS!" She charged at him, the bloody old fart- the caretaker of her palace. He didn't see her coming, didn't predict she would react in such a way. She roughly grabbed his throat and in a flash they were inside: his body was thrown into the wall on their left. Chen lifted his head, his vision blurry. But he could vaguely make out her walking towards him, her steps soundless on the tiles of the hall. The hall where she once used to run around gleefully as a child. _

Orihime pulled out of the illusions with such effort she fell to the floor, perspiring and gasping. The man's voice still in her head; she wants to rip her hair out. He sounds so familiar, so similar to a voice she remember faintly...

Her chest burned uncomfortably and her head pounded. Orihime was in bad shape. She had been for a whole now. It had been six days until she lost her Shun Shun Rikka and six days since she had been having these...hallucinations. She was going insane, trapped inside the large fortress with no one she felt like she could talk to. The Captains came and went, spoke to her, but she didn't dare mention what was bothering her. She would never show weakness again...

The greater pain she concealed, the greater her remove for power strengthened. Her body reacted differently to things. Sometimes, she didn't have trouble breathing at all. The air here was heavily concentrated yet she could breathe. Talk lungfuls of air and exhale just as it were back in The World of the Living.

Orihime noticed changes. How her body was...almost about to turn inside out. Something inside was eating its way outside; leaving her prostrate and useless.

She wished she was dying.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been...studying. Yeah. That's what happen when you want to become a surgeon. But I'm back! Hopefully with a bang...**

**anyways...if anyone has any doubts or queries...please feel free to drop a review or send me a PM! (Now this is the part where I'm wondering if I should give you my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Vine links. Maybe later, eh?) **

but please. Do review?


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